Union look for their first MLS regular season victory down at Mercedes Benz Stadium against an injury plagued Atlanta United
Giorgos Giakoumakis, Derrick Williams, Jamal Thiaré, Stian Gregersen, and Xande Silva all OUT for Atlanta United, as the Union look to keep their undefeated streak alive with fourth-straight win.
Chester, PA— Another weekend is here, and another weekend without a home game at Subaru Park, as the Union take on Atlanta United this Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium. It’s really impressive when you think about it actually, that we’re two months into the season and there’s only been two MLS regular home season games so far this year for the Union. The Union are currently tied with New York Red Bulls for points on the road with 8 (2-0-2 record), though the Red Bulls have played one more game on the road this season. Last season the Union had a total of 19 points on the road with a record of 5-8-4, and to already have 8 points this season talks about the strong mentality of this group to get points early on the road. Speaking of mentality, we saw the Union earn a comeback victory last weekend down in Nashville with a 90th minute game winning goal from Dániel Gazdag, and a comeback draw against Sporting KC on March 2nd with a 95th minute game tying goal from Alejandro Bedoya.
“I give the players all the credit there, they have a lot of heart,” said Jim Curtin last weekend after their 2-1 victory over Nashville. “They’re never out of the game, they’ll play to the final whistle. And again, it’s been instilled in them from minute one to minute 90, anything can happen and we stick with things. Do we play perfect, beautiful soccer all the time? No, but at the same time, we do everything for the badge, for our fans, for the city. And these guys give everything, that’s kind of ingrained in them now. They’ve been through the battles together.”
The Union are currently tied for the second most equalizing goals on the road, with three, and are tied for the third most goal ahead goals scored on the road with three as well, according to soccerstats. Further proof that despite this team conceding first at times on the road, they find a way to equalize and eventually take the lead.
Injury updates
Kai Wagner had to exit the game in the 59th minute last weekend against Nashville due to a knee injury. Mikael Uhre and Andre Blake both didn’t travel for that game with the team due to Mikael having a foot injury and Andre Blake clearing concussion protocol, but he took a shot to the face on Friday, and the Union decided to hold him back. Leon Flach also hasn’t featured at all this season due to a pectoral injury he suffered in preseason back in February. Jim Curtin mentioned Friday afternoon in his midweek press conference that Leon Flach has been out on the field with the team, but not quite cleared for full contact, but if things go well, hopefully he’ll be back in training with the club fully this upcoming week. Mikael, Kai, and Andre all trained fully Friday making them a go for Sunday’s game against Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Atlanta United have been dealing with quite a bit of injury issues themselves and released their injury report Saturday afternoon, listing six players OUT, including star forward Giorgos Giakoumakis (knee) and starting centerback Derrick Williams (calf). Giakoumakis has five goals and two assists in 323 minutes played so far this season for Atlanta, with Jamal Thiaré scoring the second most with three, but he is also ruled out for this game with a hamstring injury. The former LA Galaxy and DC United centerback Derrick Williams has appeared in all six of Atlanta’s game this season, playing 535 minutes. Williams, is tied for first on the team with the most shots blocked (4), fourth most interceptions (4), and first in clearances (30). The two other players on the injury report include, Xande Silva (winger), who has played 316 minutes so far this season, and Stian Gregersen (centerback), who has played 270 minutes.
Series History
The Union and Atlanta are currently tied with a 4-4-4 record in 12 regular season matches, with a 0-3-3 record down at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Last year when these two teams met in Atlanta, the Union lost by a score of 2-0, thanks to goals from Thiago Almada and Brooks Lennon. Both Kai Wagner (hamstring injury), Andre Blake (Gold Cup) and Damion Lowe (Gold Cup) were missing in this game, so the Union opted for a 352 formation.
Atlanta got the scoring started in the 7th minute after Thiago Almada’s free kick was blocked by the Union’s wall. The ball fell back to Almada, who hit it on the half volley, while Joe Bendik looked helplessly on as the ball wound up in the back of the net. Atlanta would have to wait until the 79th minute for their second of the game courtesy of Brooks Lennon. After some poor defending in the box by the Union, Atlanta were able to pass the ball inside the Union’s 18-yard box without anyone closing down the ball. The Union’s offense would struggle on the day as only 1 out of their 15 shots were on target, which was a strike from distance from Dániel Gazdag, which was saved easily by Atlanta’s goalkeeper Brad Guzan. While the Union’s goalkeeper Joe Bendik would make four saves on the day. There are six current Union players who have scored goals against Atlanta: Dániel Gazdag, Julián Carranza and Mikael Uhre (2), Alejandro Bedoya, Jakob Glesnes and Nathan Harriel (1). Meanwhile, there are five current Atlanta United players with goals against the Union: Daniel Ríos (4), Dax McCarty, Thiago Almada (2), Brooks Lennon, Edwin Mosquera (1).
Union finding success on set pieces
The Union are a team that is rarely going to lead in possession and that’s okay because as Jim Curtin put it a few weeks ago after the Portland win, “Possession without real penetration is useless, so you can have all you want,” and that’s proven to be the case. The Union are 25th in the league in terms of possession, with an average of 44.2%, and despite having one of the fewer possession percentages in the league, they’re tied with Sporting KC with the fourth most goals in the league with 12. The Union have six goals from open play, one from the penalty spot, and five from set pieces, which is tied with Sporting KC for the most in the league. We’ve seen the Union now score from set pieces in three straight games; all inswinging corner kicks by the way. We’ve seen different different variations of set pieces taken as well, low driven crosses looking for a flick on with a foot, crosses sent into the near post looking for a flick on with a head, different movements to get players open inside of that 18-yard box. In his press conference to the Atlanta media on Friday Afternoon, Atlanta United manager Gonzalo Pineda talked about those challenges the Union cause for teams.
“It is very important that we control the type of game we want to play against them. If we do that, I think we’re going to be in a very good spot,” said Atlanta United manager Gonzalo Pineda. “Without saying, Philadelphia has shown, especially this year, that they don’t need a lot of possession, they don’t need a lot of chances at any moment. That long ball, the second ball; they can put the ball in the back of the net. A set piece, they can score goals, so it’s difficult. It’s one of those games that we need to be really, really good on the ball, managing very, very good side to side, through the middle, through the flanks, and move the ball fast, so they can not touch the ball for long periods of time. We can be more in their final third, so I think we need to control that. If we do that, I think we’re going to be okay.”
Of course in theory that sounds good to identify what the Union are good at, and if you can stop them, then you have a real good chance of coming away with a victory. But the Union have proven that they’ll a tough team to beat this season and they don’t mind leaving the scoring until late, with them scoring four goals in the last 15 minutes of games, two of those either a game winning goal, or game tying goal.
Player availability Report:
Philadelphia Union
Leon Flach - Shoulder (Out)
Isaiah LeFlore - Knee (Out)
Holden Trent - Finger (Out)
Atlanta United
Giorgos Giakoumakis - Knee (Out)
Stian Gregersen - Knee (Out)
Xande Silva - Adductor (Out)
Jamal Thiaré - Hamstring (Out)
Derrick Williams - Calf (Out)
Where to watch
MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (Free) and FOX with kickoff set for 2:30 pm est. Sunday, April 14th